Tag: stephen pearcy

Looking for a new flavor or a new way of spicing up your life? Well look no more. Stephen Pearcy of the multi-platinum selling band RATT has just released his Top Fuel Verde Sauce through High River Sauces in collaboration with Chris Santos from the Chef of the Food Network’s highest rated Show “Chopped”. To celebrate the release of the Top Fuel Verde Sauce Stephen will be doing a tasting and signing at Hot Licks Hot Sauce Store in San Diego, CA on May 26th at 2 PM PST.

“I love heating up all my foods. From eggs for breakfast, to Mexican, hamburgers, chili, you name it, I love my hot sauce. I’ve been wanting to release my own hot sauce for some time now and with a blink of an eye, I’m talking to Steve Seabury from High River Sauces and fellow rocker and amazing chef Chris Santos about the Top Fuel Verde Sauce.” says Stephen Pearcy about his passion for fiery foods.

Chef Chris Santos is the co-owner of The Stanton Social Restaurant, Beauty & Essex Restaurant and Lounge & Pawn Shop which was recently named “The hottest new restaurant in America” by Zagat. Chris was also awarded the prestigious “Rising Star” award from Star Chefs Magazine for his work at The Stanton Social.

“Collaborating with Steve from High River Sauce and Stephen Pearcy has been such a ‘way cool’ experience. At the age of 14 my brother took me to see RATT for my first concert at the Providence Civic Center. That night changed my life, in the cheap seats, surrounded my 10,000 metal heads. Of the thousands of shows I’ve seen since – you don’t forget your first. So to be working with Stephen is pretty fucking cool.” adds Santos.

Top Fuel Verde Sauce will ignite your taste buds with its garden fresh flavors and the perfect amount of heat. Makes an excellent choice for grilled steaks, chicken, fish, tacos and nachos. This sauce will enhance all of your favorite dishes! Its deliciously addictive you will not be able to put it away.

RATT have been forced to cancel their upcoming European tour dates. Vocalist Stephen Pearcy will be undergoing urgent hernia surgery this week. The band regrets missing the European dates on the heels of the release of their first album in eleven years, INFESTATION, which enjoyed a high chart debut in European territories.

Ratt shares this disappointment with all their European fans who planned to attend the shows at Sweden Rock, Sauna Open Air Festival, UK Download, Hellfest, Grasspop and Gods of Metal as well as their other dates. The band is looking into rescheduling as many of the shows as possible.

Pearcy’s doctors anticipate a full recovery in time for Ratt’s North American touring schedule, which includes a run with The Scorpions, beginning in July and running through September.

Man oh Mercy! What is going on in the RATT Camp? RATT’s new album Infestation sounds like a return to 1987 when rock was fun, and this merry band of rodent rockers were amongst the biggest bands of the hair metal era. Infestation is easily RATT’s best album since 1985’s Invasion of Your Privacy.

I must admit that I didn’t have high hopes for this CD. My memory of RATT’s last album, their self titled effort from ’99, still lingers in my memory. Needless to say, I didn’t care for it very much. Luckily Infestation has quickly made me remember the RATT of old. Warren DeMartini’s blazing guitar solos are back, and are a pleasure to hear once more. Carlos Cavazo seems to do a pretty good job trading off licks with Warren. Stephen Pearcy’s vocals are on point. He hasn’t sounded this good in quite some time.

Any way you look at it, RATT has some renewed energy, and the songs on Infestation shine as a result. Chances are, you may have heard “Eat Me Up Alive”, and “Best of Me” (See video below), and if so, you already know that Infestation has two big hit worthy tunes to lead off the CD. The fun doesn’t end there. “Look Out Below” sounds like the cousin of “Way Cool Jr”. “Lost Weekend” kind of reminds me of “Lack of Communication”. This is a very catchy tune, that seems like it would have been better served with the name, “Rock Steady” instead.

DeMartini’s playing has always been awesome, and his bluesy licks on “Garden of Eden” are awesome. You need to listen to this one multiple times to fully appreciate his guitar work here. “Take A Big Bite” is a monster tune from RATT. The layered guitar riffs on this song are pretty incredible. This song is going to get a lot of play from me.

‘Take Me Home” is the slowest song on Infestation, and one of the only ones that has keyboards. Thankfully, this song does NOT fall into the power ballad trap, and is a very solid tune. I probably would have mixed this song more towards the middle of the album to break up the pace a little bit more, but it works nonetheless.

The Bottom Line: Infestation is a return to form for RATT. The band has returned to their classic sound, and have ripped out another great album, that is easily one of their best. If you have ever been a fan of the band, you owe it to yourself to go out and pick this disc up as soon as possible. Infestation rocks!!

Rating: Out of 10

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Track Listing:

1. Eat Me Up Alive
2. Best Of Me
3. A Little Too Much
4. Look Out Below
5. Last Call
6. Lost Weekend
7. As Good As It Gets
8. Garden Of Eden
9. Take A Big Bite
10. Take Me Home
11. Don’t Let Go

Twisted Sister seemingly opened the floodgates for a new batch of hard rockin’ Christmas tunes when they released their album, “Twisted Christmas” in 2006. “We Wish You A Metal Xmas, and a HeadBanging New Year” has more hard rock and metal stars than any other Christmas compilation in history (Yes, even more than Monster Ballads Christmas from 2007). With that being said, it has to be awesome right?!

For the most part it is, and I would go so far as saying they have one upped, “Twisted Christmas” with this compilation.

First and foremost, I am a Jeff Scott Soto fan and he can do little wrong in my eyes. He helps rock out this rocking version of “We Wish You A Merry (Metal) Xmas”. My step daughter likes this one too. I caught her singing “We Wish You A Metal Christmas”. 🙂

You either have to love or hate Lemmy Kilmister. His rendition of “Run Rudolph Run” is pretty fun for the most part, but you know what to expect from his vocals. I have officially started a new holiday tradition by singing “Run Rudolph Run” in my best Lemmy Kilmister voice. What a great way to annoy the spouse and siblings.! 🙂

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is a creepy and cool rendition of this tune. Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iommi make this sound like a lost Black Sabbath cut.

“Silver Bells” is one of the weaker moments on this disc. Geoff Tate’s lack of vocal fortitude really shows up badly on this song. He can’t hit the notes that this song requires, and that is a shame. He used to have an awesome voice, but it is severely lacking here.

Dug Pinnick from King’s X turns in a semi soulful version of the Little Drummer Boy. George Lynch adds some pretty tasty guitar licks to this version.

You have to love Ripper Owens. He may not be the best singer in the world, but he can really metalize Christmas songs like no one else. Steve Morse provides the tasty guitar licks on “Santa Claus is Back In Town”, and Ripper drives it home with his metal screams. I love it!

Chuck Billy destroys “Silent Night” with his death metal growl, but I think this is more tongue in cheek, than anything else. I can’t say I ever expected to hear a death/thrash metal version of “Silent Night”, but the unit of Scott Ian, Jon Donais, Chris Wyse and John Tempesta somehow manage to pull this off. The shredding on this tune is pretty awesome.

Every time I hear “Deck the Halls” I think it is Geoff Tate back for another dose. It is actually Lynch Mob’s Oni Logan. I don’t know if is just me, but his voice also sounds worse for wear here. I don’t remember him sounding anything like this in the 90’s.

RATT’s Stephen Pearcy pulls off a pretty good version of “Grandman Got Ran Over By A Reindeer”. As it turns out, Pearcy has a pretty good voice for this tune. Who would have thought that?

As a whole, I have enjoyed this CD, and have replayed this quite a bit . This is easily the best hard rock Christmas CD released in 2008. Buy it!!

As their explosive singles ‘Adrenaline’, ‘Controlled Emotions’ and ‘Sleepwalker’ already on over 50 rock and metal internet stations, SWIRL is hitting the road supporting BRITNY FOX and STEPHEN PEARCY on a winter tour.

Having recently been out playing solo and supporting SLAUGHTER in the Los Angeles area, Swirl will now venture out on tour with Britny Fox and Stephen Pearcy on a tour that kicks off November 28th th in Yucaipa, CA at Angel’s Roadhouse (see below for a complete itinerary).

Says the band, “We are thrilled to be included on the Metal In America XXX-Mas tour December 2008. We never imagined this opportunity would come our way . Going across North America with such an established and celebrated headliner as RATT front man Stephen Pearcy, he alone would have been enough. But to find out that will be with Britny Fox as well, just guarantees many, many hours nightly of hard rockin`, headbangin good times for every one in attendance! We are looking forward to reconnecting with the our fans as we begin to promote the upcoming ‘Timeline’ release!”

Timeline the upcoming album to be released later this year, features the singles ‘Adrenaline’ and ‘Sleepwalker’, played, mixed and produced by Fred Coury (CINDERELLA). ROUGH CUTT bassist Matt Thorr and Carlos Cavazo (QUIET RIOT, Ratt), also have producer credits on the album. Legendary music producer Beau Hill (ALICE COOPER, Ratt, WARRANT, CHAKA KHAN) will produce tracks as well.

Swirl is guitarist Duane “DT ” Jones, drummer Brian “Bam Bam ” Jones, and new members Al Ramirez on lead vocals and Shane Carlson on bass.

Formed by brothers Duane “DT ” and Brian “Bam Bam” Jones, and having gained fresh inspiration from new members Al Ramirez and Shane Carlson , Swirl is electric, re-tooled and ready to tour. With two new tracks ‘Adrenaline’ and ‘Sleepwalker’ produced by Fred Coury, and other great songs produced by Quiet Riot/ Ratt’s Carlos Cavazo and Rough Cutt’s Matt Thorr, Swirl’s blend of classic metal gives high energy to this exciting band. Swirl has recently signed with ESP Entertainment and will begin recording with legendary producer Beau Hill (Alice Cooper, Ratt, Warrant, Chaka Khan).

With the news of RATT getting started on preparing a new album next year I thought it would be a good time to check out Stephen Pearcy’s new solo album “Under My Skin” . I think it is safe to say that Pearcy has one of the most unique and identifiable voices in rock-n-roll and has made some great music over the years with both RATT and Arcade, but to be honest most of his solo projects have been a little lacking in my opinion. With that in mind I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed listening to “Under My Skin”. If you’re expecting a RATT sounding album you may be mildly disappointed and it really doesn’t sound like an Arcade album either but I would say it is about 60/40 with the sound leaning more towards the heaviness of Arcade.

The first three songs “You’re Alot Like Me”, “Big Nothin”, and “Watcha Doin” are all in your face rockers . All three have great sounding guitars and big sounding drums of the three “Watcha Doin” would probably fit best on a RATT album it also has a great solo that would make Warren DeMartini proud. Track #4 “Time Slips Away” seems to be Pearcy’s tribute to the life his former bandmate and friend Robbin “King” Crosby, while I wouldn’t call it a ballad it is a slower song but still maintains it heaviness with Pearcy letting everyone know how he misses his fallen bandmate as the song comes to a close.

The title track “Under My Skin” is next while it is a decent song there is nothing that is really remarkable or memorable about the song. “In Outta Love” is #6 and it is another in your face rocker with a great groove and bass line throughout. “Here We Go Again” seems to be the anthem of the album and like “In Outta Love” it has a great bass line and groove. The next three songs “Bottoms Up”, “Are You Ready”, and “Injector” are pretty much like “Under My Skin” all decent songs but nothing remarkable to any of them and I will leave it up to you guys to decide if he is singing about women or race cars.

To finish out the album is the obligatory cover of a RATT song and if I gave you one guess as to which song it is it would be a pretty safe bet 92% of you would say “Round & Round” and you would be right. This time Pearcy has a little help in the form of the Donnas. It is pretty much a loyal cover to the original version with Pearcy trading verses back-n-forth with lead Donna Brett Anderson which amounts to a pretty enjoyable listen.

While there are no songs that can match the original “Round & Round” or Arcade’s “Dancin’ With The Angels”, in the end “Under My Skin” is a pretty decent album with a handful of good songs.

RATT & Roll returned to Cincinnati last Thursday Night. Two local acts opened this show, A Nervous Wreck, and Prizoner. I made it to Annies shortly after Prizoner started playing, so I can’t say how A Nervous Wreck’s set went, but Prizoner was on fire Thursday Night.

Prizoner’s set included covers by The Cult, AC/DC, Buckcherry, Kix, Cinderella, Puddle of Mudd, Skid Row, Tesla, Iron Maiden and a damn good cover of Motley Crue’s Saints of Los Angeles, as well as their own original tune, White Knuckle Ride. Prizoner has been a staple in the Cincinnati rock scene since the 80’s, and they did a fantastic job at getting the crowd pumped up and ready to see RATT.

Prizoner was so good that I though RATT would be a let down, after their excellent set. This was not the case tonight. Prizoner set the crowd up, and RATT tore the roof off of the club.

I have seen RATT twice in 2007, and Stephen Pearcy with his solo band in December. Each time, I thought Pearcy’s voice was a little better than the last time I saw him. His voice was damn near perfect this time around. I made a point to stand on the side of the stage where Warren DeMartini was playing. I am quite glad I did. His playing and solos were quite impressive.

Robby Crane might just be the best bass player RATT has ever had. Does this guy ever stand still during a show? His bass combined with Bobby Blotzer’s drums sounded great all night.

John Corabi played rhythm guitar and sang backup to Stephen Pearcy. I never noticed how much Corabi was singing until this show. I hope he doesn’t leave the band as it has been rumored of late. He will be greatly missed if he does quit RATT.

RATT played a pretty good selection of their hits including Tug of War, You’re In Love, Way Cool Jr., Lack of Communication, Lay It Down, Wanted Man, Back For More, a cover of Aerosmith’s Walkin’ The Dog, Nobody Rides For Free and a few other tunes that I can’t recall.

They also did an encore of Body Talk and Round & Round.

I didn’t decide to hit this show until a couple of days before. It was a great concert for a club show. I was glad I went. If I had any complaints at all, it would have wished RATT would have played longer.

Don’t miss RATT if they head your way. They have a few shows left on this tour.

I have included videos from RATT’s encore of Body Talk and Round and Below.

HELSTAR and SNAKE SKIN PRISON are the lastest acts confirmed for the South Texas Rock Fest, which runs from July 11th – 13th at the Javelina Harley Davidson Festival Grounds in Boerne, TX. Both acts are confirmed for the new Second Stage.

Organizers comment: “Due to the overwhelming response on the South Texas Rock Fest, we have decided to bring in a second stage and give all indie and up and coming bands the opportunity to play!”

The XXXmas tour featuring The Antidivision, Jetboy and Stephen Pearcy rolled into Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday Night. This concert was held at Whiskey Dick’s bar, which is a small club, but an intimate setting to catch bands live.

When I first found about this show, I was in disbelief that Jetboy was playing in Ohio. Their appearances here have been rare, so this show was one that I could not miss. Stephen Pearcy was a bonus, especially since I have seen him with RATT twice in 2007.

The Antidivision took the stage shortly after 9 PM. At the time the band started, their was only about 50 people in the club, and the small crowd had a very lackluster response to the bands’ tunes. I must admit that the band didn’t have much stage presence, and I wasn’t seeing a lot of energy in their performance. It probably didn’t help that no one in the audience new their songs. The band pulled a cover off of Suffergette City that was actually pretty good, but by then it was too late. People were ready for Pearcy to play. I can imagine that their 13 hour drive from Denver had them quite exhausted, and probably effected their show somewhat. Stephen Pearcy recently signed the band to his Top Fuel Records label, so this could have just been an off night for this young band. Their tunes on their myspace page show promise( check out the tune Let Yourself Go). This will be a band that I will be keeping my eye on in the future.

Jetboy took the stage around 10 P.M. and played a jaw dropping set, that included several tunes off of their releases Feel the Shake, and Damned Nation as well as a very cool cover of the Johnny Cash tune Folsom Prison Blues. I expected Jetboy to be good, but this high energy performance was well beyond my expectations. The crowd swelled (if you can call it that) to 100 people, and most of them flew to the stage like moths to a flame.

Lead guitarist Fernie Rod was completely off the hook. The small crowd didn’t deter his performance one bit. He played as if there were 1000 people in the club. The mighty mohawked, Mickey Finn proved to be one dynamic front man. I was equally impressed with Billy Rowe’s rhythm and slide guitarplaying. The newest members of Jetboy Michael Butler (bass) and Jeff Moscone(drums) are solid additions to the band. Both musicians add their own spark to Jetboy electric live show.

How these guys are still virtually unknown is mind-boggling to me! This show made is clear to me, that Jetboy is back, and they are going to rock everyone along the way. The band is currently working on new tunes for a 2008 release. Don’t miss out on this show if they come to your town! Be sure to check out the live Jetboy videos below!

The surprise of the night, was RATT front man, Stephen Pearcy. I have seen RATT twice in 2007, and both times I felt that Pearcy’s voice wasn’t what it used to be. Amazingly, on this Tuesday evening, Pearcy sounded better than he has in a long time. His five piece band, were pulling off RATT tunes with ease, and sounded great. Something else that also surprise me, was the fact that The Antidivision’s frontman Erik Ferentinos was playing lead guitar for Pearcy’s backup band, and was pulling off those amazing DiMartini guitar licks like a pro. Obviously, he is a musician with a lot to prove.

Pearcy’s voice wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was far better on Tuesday night than any other time that I saw him sing in 2007. I was very glad that I stayed for the set that consisted mostly of Ratt tunes, but also included a few covers. (Judas Priest’s You Got Another Thing Coming and, Aerosmith’s Draw The Line to name a couple of them.)

Pearcy also performed a new tune that will be on his new solo disc due in 2008, called You’re A Lot Like Me which is captured in one of the videos below.

I am sure that the weather report with the expected 2 – 4 inches of snowfall kept a lot of Columbus rock fans away from this gig. They missed one hell of a show.

A special shout goes out to Kenny Ozz from Drugstore Valentine, who is a huge supporter of glam metal in the Ohio Tri-State Area. I didn’t expect to run into anyone I knew in Columbus, and was quite surprised to find some familiar faces in the crowd.

Don’t miss the XXXmas tour if it hits your town…there are a few dates left in December.